Bones and bony structures are susceptible to a variety of weaknesses that can affect their ability to provide support and structure. Weaknesses in bony structures may have many causes, including degenerative diseases, tumors, fractures, and dislocations. Advances in medicine and engineering have provided doctors with a plurality of devices and techniques for alleviating or curing these weaknesses.
The cervical spine has presented challenges for doctors, partially due to the small size of the vertebrae and the spacing between adjacent vertebrae. Typically, weaknesses in the cervical spine, for example, are corrected by using devices that fuse one or more vertebrae together. Common devices involve plate systems that align and maintain adjacent cervical vertebrae in a desired position, with a desired spacing.
These devices, commonly referred to as bone fixation plating systems, typically include one or more plates and screws for aligning and holding vertebrae in a fixed position with respect to one another. Initial devices used stainless steel plates and screws. In order to remain fixed in place, the screws were required to pass completely through the vertebrae and into the spinal canal. These devices caused many complications and involved significant risks. To allow a screw to pass, drilling and then tapping of the vertebrae was required. In the process, instruments came within close proximity of the spinal cord, which required extreme care on the part of the surgeon.
In addition to the risks of surgically applying bone fixation plates, other complications arose. Commonly, these problems involve loosening and failure of the hardware. Two common failures are the breakage of the plates, and the backing out of the screws into soft tissues of the patient's body. The backing out of the screws is typically a result of the screws failure to achieve a sufficient purchase in the bone, although the stripping of the screws has also been known to cause this problem. Regardless of the cause of the hardware failures, a surgeon must repair or replace the broken parts, which requires undesirable invasive procedures.